Wash. Rev. Code § 9.41.010 : — CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTSFIREARMS AND DANGEROUS WEAPONS — Definitions (as amended by 2022 c 105)

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Antique firearm" means a firearm or replica of a firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898, including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
(2) "Assemble" means to fit together component parts.
(3) "Barrel length" means the distance from the bolt face of a closed action down the length of the axis of the bore to the crown of the muzzle, or in the case of a barrel with attachments to the end of any legal device permanently attached to the end of the muzzle.
(4)(()) "Bump-fire stock" means a butt stock designed to be attached to a semiautomatic firearm with the effect of increasing the rate of fire achievable with the semiautomatic firearm to that of a fully automatic firearm by using the energy from the recoil of the firearm to generate reciprocating action that facilitates repeated activation of the trigger.
(5)(()) "Crime of violence" means:
(a) Any of the following felonies, as now existing or hereafter amended: Any felony defined under any law as a class A felony or an attempt to commit a class A felony, criminal solicitation of or criminal conspiracy to commit a class A felony, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, indecent liberties if committed by forcible compulsion, kidnapping in the second degree, arson in the second degree, assault in the second degree, assault of a child in the second degree, extortion in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, residential burglary, and robbery in the second degree;
(b) Any conviction for a felony offense in effect at any time prior to June 6, 1996, which is comparable to a felony classified as a crime of violence in (a) of this subsection; and
(c) Any federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense comparable to a felony classified as a crime of violence under (a) or (b) of this subsection.
(6)(()) "Curio or relic" has the same meaning as provided in 27 C.F.R. Sec. 478.11.
(7)(()) "Dealer" means a person engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail who has, or is required to have, a federal firearms license under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 923(a). A person who does not have, and is not required to have, a federal firearms license under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 923(a), is not a dealer if that person makes only occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or sells all or part of his or her personal collection of firearms.
(8)(()) "Family or household member" has the same meaning as in RCW 7.105.010.
(9)(()) "Federal firearms dealer" means a licensed dealer as defined in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 921(a)(11).
(10) "Federal firearms importer" means a licensed importer as defined in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 921(a)(9).
(11) "Federal firearms manufacturer" means a licensed manufacturer as defined in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 921(a)(10).
(12) "Felony" means any felony offense under the laws of this state or any federal or out-of-state offense comparable to a felony offense under the laws of this state.
(13)(()) "Felony firearm offender" means a person who has previously been convicted or found not guilty by reason of insanity in this state of any felony firearm offense. A person is not a felony firearm offender under this chapter if any and all qualifying offenses have been the subject of an expungement, pardon, annulment, certificate, or rehabilitation, or other equivalent procedure based on a finding of the rehabilitation of the person convicted or a pardon, annulment, or other equivalent procedure based on a finding of innocence.
(14)(()) "Felony firearm offense" means:
(a) Any felony offense that is a violation of this chapter;
(b) A violation of RCW 9A.36.045;
(c) A violation of RCW 9A.56.300;
(d) A violation of RCW 9A.56.310;
(e) Any felony offense if the offender was armed with a firearm in the commission of the offense.
(15)(()) "Firearm" means a weapon or device from which a projectile or projectiles may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder. "Firearm" does not include a flare gun or other pyrotechnic visual distress signaling device, or a powder-actuated tool or other device designed solely to be used for construction purposes.
(16)(())
(a) "Frame or receiver" means a part of a firearm that, when the complete firearm is assembled, is visible from the exterior and provides housing or a structure designed to hold or integrate one or more fire control components, even if pins or other attachments are required to connect the fire control components. Any such part identified with a serial number shall be presumed, absent an official determination by the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives or other reliable evidence to the contrary, to be a frame or receiver.
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "fire control component" means a component necessary for the firearm to initiate, complete, or continue the firing sequence, including any of the following: Hammer, bolt, bolt carrier, breechblock, cylinder, trigger mechanism, firing pin, striker, or slide rails.
(17) "Gun" has the same meaning as firearm.
(18)(()) "Intimate partner" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 7.105.010.
(19)(()) "Law enforcement officer" includes a general authority Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 10.93.020, or a specially commissioned Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 10.93.020. "Law enforcement officer" also includes a limited authority Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 10.93.020 if such officer is duly authorized by his or her employer to carry a concealed pistol.
(20)(()) "Lawful permanent resident" has the same meaning afforded a person "lawfully admitted for permanent residence" in 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(20).
(21)(()) "Licensed collector" means a person who is federally licensed under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 923(b).
(22)(()) "Licensed dealer" means a person who is federally licensed under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 923(a).
(23)(()) "Loaded" means:
(a) There is a cartridge in the chamber of the firearm;
(b) Cartridges are in a clip that is locked in place in the firearm;
(c) There is a cartridge in the cylinder of the firearm, if the firearm is a revolver;
(d) There is a cartridge in the tube or magazine that is inserted in the action; or
(e) There is a ball in the barrel and the firearm is capped or primed if the firearm is a muzzle loader.
(24)(()) "Machine gun" means any firearm known as a machine gun, mechanical rifle, submachine gun, or any other mechanism or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot and having a reservoir clip, disc, drum, belt, or other separable mechanical device for storing, carrying, or supplying ammunition which can be loaded into the firearm, mechanism, or instrument, and fired therefrom at the rate of five or more shots per second.
(25)(()) "Manufacture" means, with respect to a firearm, the fabrication , making, formation, production, or construction of a firearm , by manual labor or by machinery.
(26)(()) "Nonimmigrant alien" means a person defined as such in 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(15).
(27)(()) "Person" means any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, club, organization, society, joint stock company, or other legal entity.
(28)(()) "Pistol" means any firearm with a barrel less than sixteen inches in length, or is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand.
(29)(()) "Rifle" means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.
(30)(()) "Sale" and "sell" mean the actual approval of the delivery of a firearm in consideration of payment or promise of payment.
(31)(()) "Secure gun storage" means:
(a) A locked box, gun safe, or other secure locked storage space that is designed to prevent unauthorized use or discharge of a firearm; and
(b) The act of keeping an unloaded firearm stored by such means.
(32)(())
(a) "Semiautomatic assault rifle" means any rifle which utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the next round, and which requires a separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge.
(b) "Semiautomatic assault rifle" does not include antique firearms, any firearm that has been made permanently inoperable, or any firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action.
(33)(()) "Serious offense" means any of the following felonies or a felony attempt to commit any of the following felonies, as now existing or hereafter amended:
(a) Any crime of violence;
(b) Any felony violation of the uniform controlled substances act, chapter 69.50 RCW, that is classified as a class B felony or that has a maximum term of imprisonment of at least ten years;
(c) Child molestation in the second degree;
(d) Incest when committed against a child under age fourteen;
(e) Indecent liberties;
(f) Leading organized crime;
(g) Promoting prostitution in the first degree;
(h) Rape in the third degree;
(i) Drive-by shooting;
(j) Sexual exploitation;
(k) Vehicular assault, when caused by the operation or driving of a vehicle by a person while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or by the operation or driving of a vehicle in a reckless manner;
(l) Vehicular homicide, when proximately caused by the driving of any vehicle by any person while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug as defined by RCW 46.61.502, or by the operation of any vehicle in a reckless manner;
(m) Any other class B felony offense with a finding of sexual motivation, as "sexual motivation" is defined under RCW 9.94A.030;
(n) Any other felony with a deadly weapon verdict under RCW 9.94A.825;
(o) Any felony offense in effect at any time prior to June 6, 1996, that is comparable to a serious offense, or any federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be a felony classified as a serious offense; or
(p) Any felony conviction under RCW 9.41.115.
(34)(()) "Short-barreled rifle" means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length and any weapon made from a rifle by any means of modification if such modified weapon has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.
(35)(()) "Short-barreled shotgun" means a shotgun having one or more barrels less than eighteen inches in length and any weapon made from a shotgun by any means of modification if such modified weapon has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.
(36)(()) "Shotgun" means a weapon with one or more barrels, designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
(37)(()) "Transfer" means the intended delivery of a firearm to another person without consideration of payment or promise of payment including, but not limited to, gifts and loans. "Transfer" does not include the delivery of a firearm owned or leased by an entity licensed or qualified to do business in the state of Washington to, or return of such a firearm by, any of that entity's employees or agents, defined to include volunteers participating in an honor guard, for lawful purposes in the ordinary course of business.
(38)(()) "Undetectable firearm" means any firearm that is not as detectable as 3.7 ounces of 17-4 PH stainless steel by walk-through metal detectors or magnetometers commonly used at airports or any firearm where the barrel, the slide or cylinder, or the frame or receiver of the firearm would not generate an image that accurately depicts the shape of the part when examined by the types of X-ray machines commonly used at airports.
(39)(())
(a) "Unfinished frame or receiver" means a frame or receiver that is partially complete, disassembled, or inoperable, that:
(i) Has reached a stage in manufacture where it may readily be completed, assembled, converted, or restored to a functional state; or
(ii) is marketed or sold to the public to become or be used as the frame or receiver of a functional firearm once finished or completed, including without limitation products marketed or sold to the public as an 80 percent frame or receiver or unfinished frame or receiver.
(b) For purposes of this subsection:
(i) "Readily" means a process that is fairly or reasonably efficient, quick, and easy, but not necessarily the most efficient, speedy, or easy process. Factors relevant in making this determination, with no single one controlling, include the following:
(A) Time, i.e., how long it takes to finish the process;
(B) ease, i.e., how difficult it is to do so;
(C) expertise, i.e., what knowledge and skills are required;
(D) equipment, i.e., what tools are required;
(E) availability, i.e., whether additional parts are required, and how easily they can be obtained;
(F) expense, i.e., how much it costs;
(G) scope, i.e., the extent to which the subject of the process must be changed to finish it; and
(H) feasibility, i.e., whether the process would damage or destroy the subject of the process, or cause it to malfunction.
(ii) "Partially complete," as it modifies frame or receiver, means a forging, casting, printing, extrusion, machined body, or similar article that has reached a stage in manufacture where it is clearly identifiable as an unfinished component part of a firearm.
(40) "Unlicensed person" means any person who is not a licensed dealer under this chapter.
(41)(()) "Untraceable firearm" means any firearm manufactured after July 1, 2019, that is not an antique firearm and that cannot be traced by law enforcement by means of a serial number affixed to the firearm by a (()) federal firearms manufacturer, federal firearms importer, or federal firearms dealer in compliance with all federal laws and regulations.

RCW 9.41.010

Amended by 2022 c 105,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by 2021 c 215,§ 93, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by 2020 c 29,§ 3, eff. 3/18/2020.
Amended by 2019 c 243,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2019 c 3,§ 16, eff. 7/1/2019 (Initiative Measure No. 1639, approved 11/6/2018).
Amended by 2018 c 7,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2018.
Amended by 2017 c 264,§ 1, eff. 7/23/2017.
Amended by 2015 c 1,§ 2, eff. 12/4/2014 (Initiative Measure No. 594, approved 11/4/2014).
Amended by 2013 c 183,§ 2, eff. 7/28/2013.
2009 c 216 § 1; 2001 c 300 § 2; 1997 c 338 § 46; 1996 c 295 § 1. Prior: 1994 sp.s. c 7 § 401; 1994 c 121 § 1; prior: 1992 c 205 § 117; 1992 c 145 § 5; 1983 c 232 § 1; 1971 ex.s. c 302 § 1; 1961 c 124 § 1; 1935 c 172 § 1; RRS § 2516-1.

Reviser's note:RCW 9.41.010 was amended twice during the 2022 legislative session, each without reference to the other. For rule of construction concerning sections amended more than once during the same legislative session, see RCW 1.12.025.

Effective date- 2022 c 105: See note following RCW 7.80.120.

Effective date- 2022 c 268; 2021 c 215: See note following RCW 7.105.900.

Effective date- 2020 c 29: See note following RCW 7.77.060.

Effective date- 2019 c 243: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2019." [ 2019 c 243 § 6.]

Finding-Short title-Effective dates-Implementation- 2019 c 3 (Initiative Measure No. 1639): See notes following RCW 9.41.360.

Effective dates- 2018 c 7: "(1) Sections 1 and 2 of this act take effect July 1, 2018.

(2) Sections 3 through 9 of this act take effect July 1, 2019." [ 2018 c 7 § 11.]

Finding- 2015 c 1 (Initiative Measure No. 594): "There is broad consensus that felons, persons convicted of domestic violence crimes, and persons dangerously mentally ill as determined by a court should not be eligible to possess guns for public safety reasons. Criminal and public safety background checks are an effective and easy mechanism to ensure that guns are not purchased by or transferred to those who are prohibited from possessing them. Criminal and public safety background checks also reduce illegal gun trafficking. Because Washington's current background check requirements apply only to sales or transfers by licensed firearms dealers, many guns are sold or transferred without a criminal and public safety background check, allowing criminals and dangerously mentally ill individuals to gain access to guns.

Conducting criminal and public safety background checks will help ensure that all persons buying guns are legally eligible to do so. The people find that it is in the public interest to strengthen our background check system by extending the requirement for a background check to apply to all gun sales and transfers in the state, except as permitted herein. To encourage compliance with background check requirements, the sales tax imposed by RCW 82.08.020 would not apply to the sale or transfer of any firearms between two unlicensed persons if the unlicensed persons have complied with all background check requirements.

This measure would extend criminal and public safety background checks to all gun sales or transfers. Background checks would not be required for gifts between immediate family members or for antiques." [ 2015 c 1 § 1 (Initiative Measure No. 594, approved November 4, 2014).]

Finding-Evaluation-Report-1997 c 338: See note following RCW 13.40.0357.

Severability-Effective dates-1997 c 338: See notes following RCW 5.60.060.

Effective date-1994 sp.s. c 7 §§ 401-410, 413-416, 418-437, and 439-460: "Sections 401 through 410, 413 through 416, 418 through 437, and 439 through 460 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1994." [ 1994 sp.s. c 7 § 916.]

Finding-Intent-Severability-1994 sp.s. c 7: See notes following RCW 43.70.540.

Part headings not law-Severability-1992 c 205: See notes following RCW 13.40.010.

Severability-1983 c 232: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [ 1983 c 232 § 14.]

Severability-1971 ex.s. c 302: "If any provision of this act, or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act, or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [ 1971 ex.s. c 302 § 35.]

Severability-1961 c 124: "If any part of this act is for any reason declared void, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this act." [ 1961 c 124 § 13.]

Preemption and general repealer-1961 c 124: "All laws or parts of laws of the state of Washington, its subdivisions and municipalities inconsistent herewith are hereby preempted and repealed." [ 1961 c 124 § 14.]

Short title-1935 c 172: "This act may be cited as the 'Uniform Firearms Act.'" [ 1935 c 172 § 18.]

Severability-1935 c 172: "If any part of this act is for any reason declared void, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this act." [ 1935 c 172 § 17.]

Construction-1935 c 172: "This act shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it." [ 1935 c 172 § 19.]

This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.
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